


when they had a play date

by BlueWall (MsMrs)



Series: through the years [11]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Baby Mike, Baby Will, Childhood Friends, Cute, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Kindergarten, M/M, Play Date, Pre-Slash, a tiny sprinkle of angst, hints of Lonnie's misogyny
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:14:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25106788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsMrs/pseuds/BlueWall
Summary: Will has never been to a friend's house - because he has never had a friend before.
Relationships: Will Byers & Mike Wheeler, Will Byers/Mike Wheeler
Series: through the years [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1008912
Comments: 7
Kudos: 41





	when they had a play date

**Author's Note:**

> I was just feeling cute. Please brush your teeth after you're done reading.  
> There are not enough pre-S1 fics with Will and Mike just being babies!

„Are you okay back there, honey?“

Trees were rushing by outside, crooked, arching their brown and brittle limbs against a gray September backdrop. Will was already missing the summer, and it seemed to him like such an eternity until it would be warm and sunny again. He was kneading his own hands in his lap, not listening to his mom.

„Honey?“ asked mom. „Are you nervous?“

„N-No.“ Will answered, but maybe he was. A part of him felt the same as he had last Monday, all alone on that swing, without his mom, without anyone he knew. There was also the giddy part of him now, though. Will could barely keep his feet still, keeping them pressed against the backrest of the passenger seat all the way from home to Mike‘s house. He had a friend! Will had a friend, and he was going to see his friend right now! Not at school, but at his home, on the weekend! 

At his very big home, as Will realized when his mom said „Okay, we‘re there. Don‘t worry, okay? I know Mike‘s mom, and she‘s really nice. Ready? Don‘t forget your backpack.“ Will absently grabbed it, but he was more fascinated by the house. It was so tall he couldn‘t even see the roof from down here by the curb, and that was something he couldn‘t unerstand, because he knew Mike just had one sister. What did four people need such a big house for? Will had a brother and his parents, but their house wasn‘t nearly as huge. „I‘ll come inside with you for a while.“ mom said.

Will almost fell into a bush when he tried to walk with his eyes still fixed on the upstairs windows, and his mom caught him by his jacket just in time. „Ow...“ he mumbled, because a few twigs had poked him. „Mommy, I wanna ring the bell!“

„Alright.“ She smiled, lifting him up so he could reach the doorbell. It made a nice sound - not at all distorted and crackly like the doorbell at Will‘s house. Will pressed again just to hear it again, then his mom set him down again. 

It was Mrs Wheeler who opened the door, and suddenly, Will wasn‘t so giddy anymore. He had seen her pick up Mike from school, but never really spoken to her, so when she smiled and said „Hi, Will. Did you have a nice morning?“, he couldn‘t find his voice. A gargling noise came out, and then he hugged his mom‘s leg and buried his face in her side, just because he didn‘t know how to help himself. 

„Aw, he‘s just a bit shy.“ his mom apologized. „I‘m sure he‘ll-“

„Will!“ a voice squawked from inside the house. „Will!“ Mike pushed past Mrs Wheeler, and Will barely had time to untangle himself before he was wrapped around his friend. Or rather, Mike was wrapped around him, while Will was too awestruck to move.

„Come in.“ Mrs Wheeler offered kindly. „You know, Michael has been so excited all morning, he almost couldn‘t sit still for breakfast.“

„Mom...“ Mike groaned, tugging Will into the warmth of his home by the shoulder. „I wanna show Will my room, and my toys, and the basement too, and-“

Mrs Wheeler squatted down in front of the two, smiling. „I‘m sure you can figure out what to do first. I wanted to bake some cookies later.“

„My mom‘s cookies are the best.“ Mike explained once Mrs Wheeler and Will‘s mom had gone off to the kitchen. „You‘ll see. But never never ever try her coffee, okay? Because I know it smells good, but it‘s actually really yucky.“

Will giggled. Now that he was alone with Mike, he was feeling a lot better. Almost as though they were alone on the playground at school again. „I know. I tried it when my mommy wasn‘t looking. It‘s so bitter.“ He was still struck by how big everything was here - even the doors were wider than what he knew from home. He could probably get lost in this house if he wasn‘t careful.

„Come on, I‘ll show you my room first!“ Mike cried, again tugging on Will‘s arm. But Will saw where Mike was going, and suddenly stood frozen in place. His friend had one foot on the first step. „W-What‘s wrong? You okay, Will?“

In his cheeks, Will could feel a painful heat, and there was a stone in his belly as he looked at the long way upstairs. „We-“ he mumbled. „We-“

„Will?“

„We don‘t have stairs in our house.“ Will whispered, desperately trying to find a way to hide his face from Mike.

„Oh...“ Mike said. „You... you can go up backwards like I used to do when I was little. Here, I‘ll show you.“ He sat down on the first step, and then quickly pushed himself up to the second one with his hands and feet. And still, Mike was smiling at Will. „See? Now you try it! Don‘t worry, you can‘t fall.“

A part of Will wanted to say no, run to his mom and ask her to just carry him upstairs. He was so, so ashamed of that part. His legs were shaking a bit when he sat down, and they somehow seemed quite a lot weaker than usual. „Up one step.“ he said under his breath, then again „Up one step.“ With every step Mike climbed, Will came after him. It wasn‘t that hard; He never even once had the feeling he was about to fall down. Still, when he finally reached the upstairs, he crawled to safety on all fours before getting up.

„You did it!“ Mike cheered. He began to spin Will around by the shoulders

„I... did it!“ Will laughed as he hugged Mike.

His heart made a leap when Mike yelled through the house „Mrs Byers, Will went up the stairs!“ But maybe he wasn‘t loud enough, because the chatter in the kitchen didn‘t stop. He was loud enough to get someone else to answer, though.

„Oh, shut up, Mike!“ came a voice from the room they were standing in front. Probably Mike‘s sister, Nancy. Will had only seen her from afar once last week. She ripped her door open, fuming. „I‘m trying to finish my homework! Can‘t you be obnoxious some place else, and-“ Nancy stalled. „You‘re Jonathan Byers‘ brother?“

„Uh-huh.“ Will nodded.

Somehow her features softened. She even smiled, if a little mysteriously. „Say hello to your brother from me. Just... please let me do my homework. I don‘t want to spend all day on it! It‘s Saturday.“

„Come on, Mike.“ Will said. „I wanna see your room.“

„I knew she wouldn‘t hit you.“ Mike grumbled, but he cheered up more and more the further they got away from Nancy‘s room.

„Does she hit you?“

Mike shrugged. „I hit her harder. Women can‘t fight, y‘know.“

„Yeah. My dad says they‘re good for cooking, and cleaning, and shagging.“ Will shrugged. He allowed himself to be guided with an arm around his shoulder. „But I don‘t know... My mommy‘s also good for hugging, and reading stories, and-“

„What‘s shagging?“ Mike asked. He opened the last door on the left and pulled Will inside with him.

Will thought about this for a second. He knew he had made a mistake, and a slight wave of panic was forming in his belly. „Dunno. My mom says I‘m not s‘posed to ask or say the word. S-So please don‘t tell her, okay?“

„I promise.“ 

„And promise you‘re not gonna ask your mom? I think it‘s a bad word.“

Mike solemnly raised a hand. „I swear! So what do you wanna do?“

Will was too overwhelmed to answer. He had never seen a room quite as big just for one boy. Mike‘s room was bigger than the living room at Will‘s house, and he had it all to himself. He had a desk with a pile of crayons and paper on it. He had three large chests where he must have kept his toys. His carpet had roads and buildings on it, like a real city where you could drive around with toy cars. But best of all, Mike had a super high bunk bed. Will found himself shifting from one foot to the other. What did he want to do?

\--------------------

„Give up, sir! You can‘t win, but I‘ll let you live if you give me your sword!“

Will had fought viciously for his kingdom. He had even still defended his castle when Sir Mike had pushed him back to the tower. When he had to fend off blow after blow while clinging to the ladder with one hand. But even a brave knight knew when he was beaten, so Will threw the wooden sword to the ground, right under Mike‘s triumphant gaze. Will didn‘t mind that he had lost - and thank god Mike didn‘t tease him about not being a good fighter.

„This castle is mine now! You can be my treasurer if you want.“ Mike said.

Will blinked, trying to wrap his head around that word. „Trea-su-rer.“ he said. „Do you want me to find treasures?“

Laughing, Mike clacked both swords together a few times. „No. You‘re in charge of the treasures I have. Like, protect them. And you... I don‘t know, you write down how much I actually have and stuff.“

„Or can I... maybe draw them? I‘m not so good at reading and writing. We could make gold coins and put them in a chest.“

Mike‘s mouth shaped an O, and then he grinned wide. „Hey that‘s a cool idea! Let‘s draw a bunch of treasures and put them in the treasure chamber! I‘ll have to make you a real knight first because the treasurer is always a knight. Kneel down.“ Will shrugged, and did as he was told. He felt the sword Mike had just taken from him on his left shoulder. „From now on your name is Sir Will... uh... Sir Will the Wise. Because you figured out how to fill our treasure chamber.“

With a stern face, Mike gave the sword back to Will. Will the Wise... He could get used to that. Because even if he wasn‘t so strong, or fast, Will was wise, wasn‘t he? „D‘you wanna use the crayons?“ he asked.

Mike nodded, but he stopped himself mid-motion, pressed a finger to his lips and hushed. „Oh no! Do you hear that?“

Will could hear it; Footsteps outside of Mike‘s room. They were still far away, maybe on the stairs, but they were coming closer. „Boys!“ a voice called.

„The Orks are coming!“ Mike squealed. „Quick! Get in the castle! Faster!“

Will took a little longer than Mike to climb the ladder to the top bunk, but they both made it in time to get themselves and their swords under the covers. They just left a little crack to spy out of, which made Will just so giddy. Because when their moms came into the room, Will and Mike could see them without being seen. 

Mike made sure to keep Will low by pressing a hand on his back, and when Will‘s breath hitched from quietly laughing, Mike clasped his other hand over Will‘s mouth. „Shhh.“ But still, he also used a finger to poke Will‘s side and make him laugh and squeak some more.

„Huh.“ Mrs Wheeler said. „I thought they‘d be here.“

Will‘s mom started strolling through the room. „Oh, don‘t worry, Karen. Maybe they‘re just running some errands, like I‘m about to do. If I see them at the store I‘ll tell them to come home asap, okay?“

„Oh, I just hope they‘re back in time to have some cookies, or Nancy and I will have to eat them all... Just think of all the chocolate chips they‘re missing out on!“

„On the count of three.“ Mike whispered in Will‘s ear. „One...“

„Two...“ Will whisper-giggled.

„Three! Surrender!“ Mike threw the covers off of them, and he raised his sword just like Will did. „You don‘t stand a chance!“

„Well, looks like we‘re surrounded.“ Will‘s mom sighed. „I think there‘s nothing we can do, Karen.“

Mrs Wheeler put her hands up, stepping back. „What are your demands?“

Mike had to think about this for just a few seconds, during which he loosened his grip on the sword. But not Will; He was determined to keep his guard up, because you just couldn‘t trust those Orks. „Bring us cookies!“ Mike demanded. „And milk! The people of our kingdom are hungry!“

„We don‘t want them to starve, do we?“ Mrs Wheeler nodded. „But the cookies are still in the oven, so your brave people will have to wait for a while. Would the kings like some orange juice in the meantime?“

„Yes, please.“ Will said while Mike nodded. He really was feeling thirsty after their fight.

„I‘ll get you some.“ Mrs Wheeler said.

Will‘s mom stood in front of the bunk and held her arms out. Will allowed her to pick him up. „I‘ll get some things from the grocery store now, sweetie. And then when I‘m done preparing dinner I‘ll pick you up. Think I can leave you with Mike for a few hours?“

Will giggled when her fingers tickled his belly. „Yes, mommy. We want to make a treasure. Maybe we can show you later?“

„Absolutely. I can‘t wait to see your riches tonight.“

\--------------------

Of course, Will now had to make sure that it would turn out to be an impressive treasure if his mom was going to see it later. They used Mike‘s orange crayons, of which he had three, to draw circles on sheets over sheets of paper. Will then used a darker shade to draw numbers or heads in the middle of the circles, Mike filled out the blank space with orange (gold) and then used his scissors to carefully cut them out. Finally, Will insisted on coloring both sides of each coin so they would actually be real.

„That‘s so cool!“ Mike commented when he dumped yet another handful of coins under his bunk bed. The pile was getting bigger and bigger, but they could have been faster if Mike hadn‘t insisted on stopping to tickle Will to the ground a few times until he lost his breath from laughing. And every time Will lay boneless on the floor, Mike would just shrug, saying „It‘s so easy to make you laugh!“ But then he would help Will up and they‘d continue to make their treasure.

A delicious smell was carrying itself upstairs, so the cookies were out of the oven and cooling down, finally. Just half an hour later, Mrs Wheeler brought in a tablet with fresh cookies and a glass of milk for each of them - and really, Will thought the cookies even put their gold coins to shame. They were bigger than his hand, and there were so many of them. „A feast for the kings.“ Mrs Wheeler said. „I better get started with dinner now.“

„Wait!“ Mike called. He gave her three of their gold coins. „We‘re kind rulers. Hey, Will?“

„Yeah?“ Will said absently, marveling at the sheer size of the cookie in his hand.

„I think we have enough gold for now.“ Mike was looking really tired, Will realized. The sky outside had started turning a dark shade of blue, and they had spent a while already with the desk lamp on. 

Will couldn‘t help but yawn. „Yeah. We‘re rich now.“ He took a bite from his cookie, and it was just perfect.

„Hey, want to see my book about dinosaurs?“ Mike asked. „It doesn‘t matter if you‘re not good at reading because it‘s got pictures.“

„I have a book about dinosaurs too! It‘s my favorite!“

„Really?“ Mike gasped. „What‘s your favorite dinosaur?“ He began rummaging through the largest of the toy chests, eventually proclaiming „Ah-ha! Here it is! The ABC‘s of Dinosaurs.“

Will almost dropped the cookie when he saw it. „That‘s the book I have!“ he said. „But mine‘s way, way older. I think the best dinosaurs are the really big ones. Like Brachiosaurus. No one messes with them! Not even T-Rex! But Iguanodon is pretty cool too. He‘s got a funny face.“

Mike pulled the comforter and a few pillows from his bed, propped them up against the wall, and sat down on the floor with the book and the tablet. He invited Will by clapping his hand on the carpet. The book was so big that it covered both their laps, and from time to time they had to swipe off some cookie crumbs before turning the page.

„See!“ Will said when they came across his favorite picture; A Brachiosaurus with a tiny little man drawn next to it. „See how big they are? No one can be mean to them because they‘ll just step on the mean guys.“

„I guess that‘s pretty cool.“ Mike nodded. Will had noticed that he had yawned a lot these past minutes. They both had. „I like the fast ones more. Like T-Rex and the small Raptors. They‘re as fast as a car, and they‘re smart-“ He yawned. „-they‘re smart too.“

„Hmm...“ Will hummed, too tired to think about this a lot. Every time he blinked it felt like he should just close his eyes and go to sleep. He stuffed more bites of delicious chocolate chip cookie in his mouth because he didn‘t want to miss out on it - only to slump over, completely exhausted.

\--------------------

The next thing Will knew was he was being carried. He knew it was his mom just by the smell of her, so he kept his eyes closed and curled up happily. After a few moments, though, his eyes slowly opened. „Mommy?“

„Hey, sweetie.“ she whispered. „You‘ve had quite the day, haven‘t you? I‘ve seen your treasure. Looks like you‘re rich now.“

Will giggled. They were already downstairs, and behind them, Mrs Wheeler was carrying Mike, who had his eyes half closed. „Yeah, I guess. Mom, I wanna say goodbye to Mike.“

„Sure, honey. Here, I‘ll let you down.“ Will had some trouble standing, and Mike was wobbly on his legs as well, which became less of a problem when they hugged, because now they could hold each other up. „Bye, Mike.“

„Bye, Will.“ Mike mumbled. „Maybe next time we can draw some dinosaurs. You‘re so good at drawing. I bet they‘d look cool.“

„Let‘s do that in kindergarten. Or when you come to my house.“ Will squeezed his friend one last time for the night. His mom told him he didn‘t need to bother with his shoes before carrying him out to the car. Over her shoulder he could see Mike standing in the open door, a warm glow of light behind him, waving. Will waved back.

„Do you think you can fit some dinner in your tummy?“ mom asked on the way home.

Will shrugged. He would have much rather gone to sleep right away. „I‘ll have some.“

„That‘s good. You know, Mike‘s mom just packed me a few of her cookies, so we can have a nice dessert too.“

Will grinned. But sprawled in the comfortable backseat, the heater working, he was just too tired to care, so he didn‘t fight it when his eyes closed again.

**Author's Note:**

> Was this cute enough?


End file.
